


Second Nature

by SlytherinCat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Character Death, F/M, Flowers, Friendship/Love, Transfiguration (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23120578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinCat/pseuds/SlytherinCat
Summary: Transfiguration is a powerful tool, especially in the hands of a protégé.
Relationships: Lavender Brown/Blaise Zabini
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25
Collections: Transfiguration: 2020 Round One





	Second Nature

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [DBQ2020Round1](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DBQ2020Round1) collection. 



> Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but are the property of J.K.R. and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.  
> The theme for this round of the competition was Transfiguration and my chosen pairing was Blaise Zabini/Lavender Brown.  
> Comments/Reviews are encouraged by The Slytherin Cabal's Admin Team on all stories in Death By Quill, but comments left by readers are set to be moderated by story authors until the end of the competition in order to protect participants' anonymity.  
> Thank you to my beta for their time and help.

* * *

_ February 1996 _

She didn’t remember  _ how _ exactly they had become friends but somehow over the course of several months of studying together in their third year, Lavender - the bubbly Gryffindor - and Blaise - the reserved Slytherin - had developed an interesting friendship. Neither of them had acknowledged it as exactly that, but they both knew it.

He was always dressed to the nines. How many times had she imagined loosening his tie and making him laugh? Not the wicked smile that was usually playing around his lips but a genuine laugh. 

With a crack, she bit through her quill and the sound seemed amplified in the silence of the classroom. Her gaze met his when he turned towards the noise and she was caught in it. 

Lavender averted her eyes when she noticed Parvati moving next to her and received a confused look from her friend. She answered with a shrug and a smile. 

When she returned her gaze to the Slytherin, she caught him still staring. This time she saw a lopsided grin on his face. She didn’t mind that one at all. 

Lavender had begun some kind of fascination with him starting in second year. It hadn’t been romantic in any way. It had been sheer curiosity and, if she were honest with herself, a bit of jealousy.

He was always looking his best, even back then. She wanted that as well. 

Everyone always saw Parvati first and Lavender understood it, to a degree. Her best friend had the ability to turn heads with just her presence in a room. Lavender was loud and shrill but that usually didn't help her to be liked or positively received. Of course, she knew a thing or two about being presentable and put together, but a head-turner? Not Lavender.

Blaise Zabini on the other hand. He was elegant, handsome, and people noticed. At least she did. 

His situation was quite similar. The first thing everyone ever saw was Malfoy; he was the one to catch, the one to conquer, the one to have. For her, the quiet immaculate guy next to the blonde had always held more of an appeal. 

Although she could imagine something more with him now, Lavender was happy to just have him as a friend. Even though they had to keep it a secret thanks to the school politics… which had turned out to be more like actual politics. 

* * *

  
  


" _ Orchideous _ !" Lavender shouted.

Just like the previous twenty times, nothing happened. 

“Nothing?! Argh! Why is this so hard?! They're just bloody flowers!"

“You’re already supposed to have mastered that spell. How did you pass the practical in fourth year again?” Blaise mocked her. 

“I wasn’t required to do it during the exam," she grumbled. “What are you doing here? How long have you been standing there?” 

“Long enough to see you fail spectacularly. Seems like you’re not doing anything productive, either. Are you even trying?” he continued while leaning against the wall next to the door.

She spluttered before crossing her arms in front of her chest and glowering at him. “I didn’t ask you to watch me. You’re free to leave.”

“Ah, but I like to watch you.” He looked her up and down slowly, “I heard about that mishap a few weeks ago. Nasty business… glad to see your hair has grown back.”

She felt her cheeks warm up. 

“I have no clue what you mean,” Lavender struggled to act oblivious. 

No, she had not tried to add highlights to her hairstyle and wound up with green hair. No, she had not tried to fix it and ended up having almost no hair at all. Definitely not. 

She knew he wasn’t fooled by her acting but he dropped the teasing and pushed off the wall to come closer.

“Have you ever thought about how useful Transfiguration would be in a duel?” he asked seriously. 

“Yes, I have. You would… You’d have to be incredibly skilled and controlled, wouldn’t you? Duels tend to not offer conditions that let you do that,” she told him after a pause. 

"It’s not that uncommon. Dumbledore is known for his Transfiguration skills especially in his duel against Grindelwald. McGonagall was a protégé of Dumbledore. Even low-level Transfigurations would give you an advantage. If they can do it, why not us?”

She rolled her eyes so hard she was worried they'd get stuck. “Right. Well…I’m not a Transfiguration protégé. I'm complete shit at it, as you well know."

There was silence between them. Blaise stared at the spot her flowers were supposed to be. 

“That much is obvious,” he deadpanned.

“Arse.”

He grinned and moved to a spot behind her, close enough that she could almost feel his warmth. Almost.

"What are you doing, Blaise?" she asked him uncertainly.

“I'm going to help.” 

“Excuse me?”

“You need help.” 

“I know that,” she wasn’t too proud to admit it. “Why would a Slytherin want to help a Gryffindor?”

"You're still questioning my motives?"

"Just answer the question. Why?"

“Who says I’m helping  _ you _ ?”

“You just said-,” she huffed annoyed. “Never mind, I’ll just go with it.”

“Perfect. Loosen your stance and especially your wrist, but keep a firm grip on your wand. The most important thing about doing any kind of spell is intent.” 

“Intent? But wand movement and incantation are most important.” Lavender frowned, not moving a muscle.

“This is where you limit yourself, little Gryffindor. Intent is what makes a spell powerful and Transfiguration is an art form. Have you ever actually watched McGonagall cast? It’s impressive, even I have to admit that.” 

“I guess,” she mumbled not sure what he meant.

"You have to guide your magic through intent and therefore you also guide the spell, and ultimately, what you want it to do."

"That sounds like wishful thinking," she mumbled but relaxed her posture.

“Close your eyes. Imagine what you want from the spell. Picture it in your mind. Will it to happen. Keep your body relaxed and breathe.” 

It should feel wrong to close her eyes in the presence of a Slytherin but Blaise was  _ her  _ Slytherin, wasn't he? Therefore she tried to follow his instructions as best she could. It couldn’t hurt to at least try. His deep voice was calming and she automatically relaxed her body and, to her surprise, her mind as well. 

“When you’re ready, do the spell,” he whispered.

It didn't take her long to picture what she wanted in her mind. She opened her eyes and calmly said, “ _ Orchideous _ .” 

She felt the spell travel through her entire body, a sensation she had never experienced quite like this. 

“Well, would you look at that,” Blaise said smugly. 

Lavender’s eyes widened in surprise. 

There was a beautiful and very big bouquet of white, purple and violet anemone, roses and lavender. It was even better than in her head. 

She stepped closer to her achievement and touched one of the whorls of lavender. It was real. She bent forward to smell it. It smelled real, too. 

“I did it. Perfectly. On my first try,” she whispered in awe.

She looked to Blaise who held something interesting in his eyes. It looked almost calculating. All Lavender would remember later was the admiration, though.

“I did it!” She squealed it this time and without thinking threw herself at him. 

He caught her immediately whether out of sheer necessity, so they wouldn’t crash, or because he actually wanted to. She didn’t care either way. 

“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ve always struggled with Transfiguration because I knew that it was difficult, to begin with, and I wanted it to be perfect. I actually hindered myself but what I just felt when I did the spell was just incredible! It’s like I’ve broken through a wall. I’ve never felt anything like it. Do you think it’s like that with every Transfiguration? Of course, it is, silly me! Could I improve my Charms work as well? Although, I’ve never had much trouble with defensive spells or charms… weird.” She finally took a breath. “But this is amazing! Thank you, Blaise!”

She hugged him close again and stepped back grinning up at him. He pushed his hands deep into his trouser pockets and cleared his throat. 

“This was just the first step. Now, you know how it’s supposed to feel. You have to practice a lot because if you want to be able to use this in a duel, you don’t have time to relax and breathe. The intent and this feeling have to become second nature to you.” 

“Right. Of course, that makes sense.” She nodded still feeling giddy.

“Well, my work here is done. See you around, Brown,” Blaise said and moved toward the door. 

Out of the sheer need to keep him with her, Lavender reached out and grabbed his arm when he passed. Stopping in his tracks he lifted one eyebrow and looked down into her eyes. 

“Just stay. We could practice together. There’s bound to be something you have to study, too,” she suggested lamely.

It took him just a moment to decide before he shrugged seemingly nonchalantly, “Nothing better to do.” 

She just smiled.

  
  


_ November 1996 _

“What about  _ Brachiabindo _ ? It binds the target.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who didn’t pay attention, again? It’s declared as a charm. Invisible bindings. Nothing you are actually conjuring.” He tapped her nose mockingly.

“Technically, you’re conjuring  _ actual _ bindings, though,” Lavender countered vanishing her successfully conjured birds.

“Are you? What are you conjuring with  _ Petrificus Totalus _ ?”

She rolled her eyes at him, “I’m not debating Magical Theory with you. It’s a lost cause. You never realize when you’re wrong.”

She had overtaken him with her Transfiguration skills very quickly. Of course, McGonagall had promptly noticed and, to Lavender’s great surprise, the professor had started to assign her advanced tasks. When asked how she was improving so rapidly, she told her she had read about guiding your intent in a book and tried it with Transfiguration. The results spoke for themselves and McGonagall was more than impressed with her progress. By the end of her fifth year, she had mastered all lower-level Transfiguration spells silently. 

Lavender’s entire demeanour changed with her success in Transfiguration. Since she had to be calm - at least mentally - her behaviour, in general, evolved into something much more refined and serene - at least  _ most _ of the time. Not only that but succeeding in spellwork also improved her confidence. 

“You’ve grown quite cocky since you’ve become a Transfiguration protégé,” Blaise declared with a smirk. 

“I’m no protégé. Stop saying that.” Lavender flicked her wand and conjured the bouquet she was so fond of. She had started to do it every day feeling like it was special to her since it had been the first completely successful Transfiguration spell she had accomplished. Thanks to her tenacity it really had become second nature.

“Also,” she continued, “you keep bringing up the classification of spells. According to your own statement, spells can be directed via intent. Why classify them?”

If Blaise was right - which he tended to be - she could transfigure objects into her bouquet with the same spell, side-stepping conjuration, which was considered more difficult than merely changing something. 

Intent was something incredible. 

  
  


_ May 2nd 1998 _

"Your hair looks like you've been shagged thoroughly."

“Arse,” she grumbled with a blush colouring her face as she tried to fix it. Blaise had just transfigured her hair into flowers because Lavender had beat him in turning the desk into a pig by several minutes. 

His reply was stopped by an announcement echoing in the corridor and classroom. One of the Carrows directed the students to return to their Common Rooms immediately. 

Blaise turned around quickly and picked up his bag. 

“Why are you in such a hurry? They won’t punish you. You’re a Slytherin… and a pureblood.” 

Blaise faltered in straightening his tie. He looked at her almost pitifully. 

“They don’t stop punishing us just because we wear green robes. Don’t you get it? We are treated exactly the same. The guise of blood supremacy is long gone. They’re just riding on the Dark Lord's coattails and using the pseudo-power they get from it to torment everyone, not just Mudbloods and Half-bloods.”

“Don’t say that word.” Lavender admonished him only half-heartedly.

“Naive little Gryffindor. If you want to appease them you should start using it yourself." He cupped her cheek. “Get back to the Room of Requirement and… be careful, Brown.”

He turned around without another word and left.

Five hours later she was running. Running for her life. Because she knew if she stopped - if he got her - it would be over. He was faster, more agile and hungry for her flesh. 

She could hear him behind her. He was close - too close. Icy fear gripped her heart. The sound of the fighting around her was somehow not enough to drown out his pants and the thumping and scratching of his feet with claws half extended. She could hear his growl. 

Panicked whimpers escaped her throat. She wasn’t sure where the energy or the oxygen was coming from but the half-wolf hunting her heard them too, and it only spurred him on. 

Suddenly, there was a weird whooshing sound and a shadow above her. The next thing she felt was a blinding pain across her shoulder, up her neck, and she was thrown forward by the sheer force of it, landing hard on her side and rolling further along the corridor. 

It took a second too long for her brain to catch up with what had happened. The small amount of air she had gathered inside her lungs was suddenly forced out by the weight on top of her. 

She was dizzy, and the wound on her shoulder and neck was already starting to throb intensely. Her eyes slowly focused on sharp elongated teeth and a half-human face right in front of her. 

“Gotcha!” Greyback’s growl rattled through her entire body. 

In the back of her mind, she thought that it was really grotesque how happy he sounded. 

“I like the chase, little girl. Running just makes me hard for you.” He emphasized his words by grinding his erection into her stomach. “Now, I have to do  _ two _ things before finding my next victim. Fuck you and  _ then _ eat you.” 

A sob fought its way out of her throat, not sure how she still had any air left for it. 

“No need to cry, little girl. Although, if you feel like it, go ahead. It’ll just encourage me.” 

He licked along her neck, tasting the blood spreading into her hair. She hoped he hadn’t hit anything vital. She didn’t want to die. There was too much she still wanted to do. 

She had a flash of a certain someone’s face in her mind and it was like a new wave of energy hit her. She wanted another chance with him; more moments together… just more. 

She struggled as much as she could, tried to push up her legs to throw him off of her. Her right arm was stuck underneath her body. She noticed she had miraculously kept ahold of her wand. 

Greyback shifted his weight again to bring his face close to her left side. He trailed his claws along her neck. His entire presence and his playfulness were absolutely disgusting, but it allowed her to slowly wriggle her arm out from under her body. Without much thought, she angled her wand at the feral thing on top of her.

_ “Piscifors!” _

The heavy weight on top of her disappeared. Lavender heard a wet slapping sound next to her head and turned toward it. She had transfigured Greyback into a fish. 

“Blaise was right,” she whispered. “Transfiguration is a useful advantage.”

She was bruised and sore from running and falling. It felt like Greyback’s weight had crushed her bones. She heard someone running.

“Brown? Lavender?! Fuck! Please be breathing, please be breathing-” 

Was that…? 

“Blaise?” she croaked, barely audible. 

“Come on Lavender, say something,” Blaise pleaded, kneeling down next to her. 

“Ow, you’re on my hand,” she managed a little louder this time. 

“You’re alive! Thank Salazar, what… Oh, I’m so sorry.” He scrambled off her. “What happened? Where are you hurt? Is that your blood?”

She had never seen him so frazzled. 

“I’m okay… I think. He caught my shoulder but I don’t think it’s serious.” 

“He?” Blaise looked around spotting the fish skipping next to her a second later. “What is that?” 

“That is Greyback. Help me up, Blaise.”

“Grey-?… Wow,” Blaise whistled.

After a few deep breaths and a lot of help from the Slytherin, Lavender was upright again. Blaise wanted to check her over but she ignored him and turned to Greyback still on the floor.

His flapping seemed to become less and less. 

Lavender didn’t want him to be alive. She lifted her wand arm and pointed it at the beast on the floor. 

“ _ Orchideous,”  _ she said calmly, no hesitation in her voice. 

Without much fanfare, Fenrir Greyback turned from a fish into a bouquet of familiar flowers interspersed with lavender. 

Blaise and Lavender stared at it for a moment before the Slytherin set it on fire with a flick of his own wand. 

They watched the bouquet burn, showing flames of different colours. It was strangely beautiful.

“Leaving the world prettier than before. Nice touch, Brown.” 

She looked away from the burning flowers that used to be her attacker and met Blaise’s gaze. 

Blaise stepped closer and cupped her cheek, giving her strength with just his presence. 

She leaned into his touch and replied, “It wasn’t a conscious thought. It was just… second nature.”

Blaise just nodded. “Come on my little protégé. There’s a war going on and we have to win it.” 

  
  



End file.
